Tutor information
Jonathan Darnborough
Jonathan Darnborough is Director of Studies in Music and Departmental Lecturer in Music at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. He is the author of Oxford University’s first three online Music courses.
Courses
Scott Joplin's piano rags constitute a vital part of America's musical heritage, with their lyricism and rhythmic vitality. This day school will analyse Joplin's ragtime legacy and also consider the central work of his final years, the opera Treemonisha.
Mozart is considered to be one of the greatest classical composers. Whilst opera was undoubtedly his central interest, in his brief 35 year life he wrote major works in almost all musical genres. This course charts his life and compositional development.
Explore piano repertoire, interpretation and technique in a lively mixture of talks and workshops, in which all students will have regular opportunities to play. This class is open to players of all levels and students may join the class in any term.
The aim of musical analysis is to understand how music exerts such a powerful effect on us. This course introduces some of the main approaches as we attempt to bridge the gap between our intuitions about music and our intellectual knowledge of it.
The impact of Beethoven's music resonated throughout the 19th century. This course looks at his later works and explores their influence on the music of Romantic composers, including Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms and Wagner.
Puccini's strong, tragic heroines, exotic settings and emotional music have ensured that La Bohème, Tosca, Turandot and Madama Butterfly have a permanent place in the repertory. This course studies his operas, his turbulent life and complex personality.
The piano was, for Beethoven, his most personal means of expression and his monumental cycle of piano sonatas is one of the pinnacles of western music. This course will explore these works chronologically.
Explore piano repertoire, interpretation and technique in a lively mixture of talks and workshops, in which all students will have regular opportunities to play. This class is open to players of all levels and students may join the class in any term.
Explore piano repertoire, interpretation and technique in a lively mixture of talks and workshops, in which all students will have regular opportunities to play. This class is open to players of all levels and you may join the class in any term.
How does music work its magic? Why does it move us so powerfully? The aim of musical analysis is to answer these and other questions by looking closely at the structures within music. The aim of this course is to enhance your understanding of music.
How does music work its magic? Why does it move us so powerfully? The aim of musical analysis is to answer these and other questions by looking closely at the structures within music. The aim of this course is to enhance your understanding of music.